LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Feb. 7 - Parents must be responsible

Regarding a Sound Off caller who stated, "Get the unions out of the schools and you will see an immediate improvement in the education of our young people": Nothing could be further from the truth. Teachers do teach but if your child isn't in school, the teacher can't help a child learn. Parents need to make sure their child is in school. Children need to know it is their responsibility - not their parents -- to do their homework. If parents can't attend teachers' meetings about their child, they can call the teacher and he or she will tell then about their child's progress and what the parents can do to help their child.

We made the mistake of letting our daughter have a phone in her room. We never saw her until dinner. Needless to say, we removed the phone. Parents must teach their children the meaning of "no." In our house, there was no statement of "I can't."

Are parents a help or a handicap to your child? It's time to quit blaming the teachers for everything your child doesn't do.